THE LITERATURE

OF PAKISTAN
THE LITERARY LANDSCAPE OF PAKISTAN
 HISTORY
• The nature of Pakistani literature soon after independence aroused controversy among
writers due to its being centred heavily on the negative events related to
the independence movement.
• Saadat Hassan Manto (1912–1955), a prominent writer of short stories of South Asia,
produced great literature out of the events relating to the India-Pakistan independence.
• Today, Pakistani literature has taken a shape of its own by depicting the complex class
system and the common man. It also has evolved in merging Urdu literary forms and
English literature
• In the 18th century, the three most important forms of Urdu poetry were ghazal,
the qasida and the masnavi. Shaikh Zahuruddin Hatim was an important poet in Delhi
during this period. His major works include two volumes of
poetry, Diwan and Diwanzada. Urdu poetry was dominated by Mir Taqi Mir and Mir
Dard, who later came to known as “the Pillars of Urdu Poetry”
CHARACTERISTICS OF PAKISTANI
LITERATURE
• Religious Elements and Impacts
• Political Scenario
• Values
• Caste Systems
• Economic Issues
• Mixed Society
• Call to Unity and Reform
• Beauty
• Nature
LITERATURE
• Rich in essence and pure in content, Pakistan’s literature in English
and Urdu – and from various regional languages – presents to the
readers a the tradition and culture of Pakistan. Where the poetry of
Allama Iqbal and his vision of the higher self is a concept that readers
cherish.
On the other side, the genre of prose brought to fore emotions,
thoughts provoking ideas, cultural diversity, and romanticism with the
works of Saadat Hassan Manto, Ibn-e-Insha, Patras Bokhari, Amjad
Islam Amjad, Wasif Ali Wasif, and Mustansar Hussain among others.
• However, Pakistani literature began shifting with the emergence of
new authors who began touching upon prevailing social issues with a
different perspective. Authors such as Mohammed Hanif (A Case of
Exploding Mangoes), Mohsin Hamid (Moth Smoke), Kamila Shamsie
(Burnt Shadows), and Daniyal Mueenuddin (In Other Rooms, Other
Wonders) not only showed their own literary depth by sending
Pakistan’s literature to the global stage.
 LINGUA FRANCA
• Lingua Franca is a language that is adopted as a common language between
people of diverse backgrounds whose native languages are different.
• The Persian language is the lingua franca of South Asia. Persian was widely
used as a second language in the
Indian subcontinent, due to the admiration the Mughals had, for the persian
language.
Urdu being the national language of Pakistan and lingua franca as well, is
the most influential language has a great contribution in Pakistani literature.
Although both are two different languages, Urdu speakers usually get
influenced by the Persian language, for instance, Allama Iqbal had a great
contribution to Persian language literature being an Urdu speaker.
 INFLUENCE OF PERSIAN LANGUAGE
ON THE URDU LANGUAGE
• There are some famous writers whose Persian and Urdu poems are to this day
read in the western side of the subcontinent. A famous writer was Amir
Khusrow, whose Persian and Urdu couplets are to this
day read in South Asia. Allama Muhammad Iqbal was also aprominent South
Asian writer who wrote in Persian and Urdu.
• One of the major effects of the Persian language on the Urdu language is the
influx of the Persian proverbs in Urdu, mostly. The proverbs in this research
are some Persian proverbs which are in use in Urdu. The Persian quotations
are quoted from the masterpiece of the Persian proverbs
 CONCEPT OF PAKISTANI LITERATURE

• It is full of spirit and passion.

• Represents Pakistani- Islamic culture.
• Highlights issues such as:
1. Race, Nationalism and History
2. War elements
3. Struggling with identity crises
4. Struggling with poverty
5. Complaints about present decadance (i.e moral or cultural decline as
characterized by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury.)
6. Atrocities of Partition
 LITERATURE BOOKS BY PAKISTANI
WRITERS
BAPSI SIDHWA:
Sidhwa is known as the most successful international author
from Pakistan. Her best-selling novels include The Crow
Eaters, Ice Candy Man, American Brat, Water, and The Bride.
• She highlights the issues due to immigration, Indo-Pak
partition, social idiosyncrasies, geographical displacement,
and the theme of marriage.
• Ice Candy Man is one of her finest masterpieces, highlighting
the most horrible transitional period in the subcontinent’s
history. Ice Candy Man gives the readers a unique experience
about how each individual was affected by the massacre
during the partition.
DANIYAL MUEENUDDIN

NOVEL: In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin

• This novel highlights the eternal themes of life, class, culture, power, and desire.
It explores a mental rivalry among the overlapping worlds of elite and middle-
class society in Pakistan.
• Though living in America, Mueenuddin has successfully investigated every
intrinsic detail of Punjab’s rural life, its feudal land-based system, tragedies of
the class system and the prevailing patriarchy.
• The stories revolve around KK Harouni, a retired civil servant and patriarchal
landlord, who is always surrounded by his employees, gardener, electrician, and
cook, rather than his family. The servants seem loyal to their landlord, but
inside they are desperate for his death as it will change their fortune and low
lifestyle forever.
BEGINNING OF URDU LITERATURE
• While it tends to be heavily dominated by poetry, the range of expression achieved
in the voluminous library of a few major verse forms, especially the ghazal and
nazm, has led to its continued development and expansion into other styles of
writing, including that of the short story, or afsana.
• Prose fiction had, indeed, become the leading mode of writing in Urdu literature
after Independence. It portrayed what could not be told in poetry, though it had
been poetry that was the effective form of expression in Urdu literature before
1947. However, in 1974, Intizar Husain’s A Letter from India, gave the tale of a
people’s trauma after the unfortunate events of 1971. In 1979, his novel Basti (The
Dwelling Place) portrayed the state of agitational politics during the last years of
Ayub Khan regime (1967-1969). In this context, Intizar Husain’s Basti is perhaps the
last fictional writing on the theme.
PAKISTANI URDU NOVELISTS
HASHIM NADEEM
Hashim Nadeem was
Bano born on 3rd February
AHMED NADEEM Qudsia 1976. He is one of the
QASMI most renowned
She had an Pakistani Urdu novelists
He was an Urdu journalist, exceptional
poet, literary critic, short story and also a poet, a fiction
author, and dramatist. He
contribution to Urdu writer and a drama
wrote 50 books on many literature. She writer, he is also a Film
different topics through which produced many director and a producer
he made a great contribution to novels, short stories,
contemporary Urdu literature.
His poetry distinguishes by its and drama plays.
humanism, his short stories
(Afsaney)
 THE EVOLUTION OF URDU LITERATURE
IN THE 20TH CENTURY
• Literature gives words to the thougths, emotions and desires of its age. So like time,
literature too evolves and is not stagnant. The main force that gives literaure its fluidity
are human thoughts.
It gave them a voice to speak against the injustice and social evils. These writers were not
afraid of rebelling against the establishment, nor were they reserved behind the veil of
tradition and customs. They wrote what they saw and what they felt. Social
unacceptance, ridicule, miss treatment and even law suites were not able to keep them
quiet. Literature in the 20th century became short, condense, powerful, rebellious and
aggressive.
• In the Urdu poetic tradition, most poets use a pen name called the takhallus. This can be
either a part of a poet's given name or something else adopted as an identity. The
traditional convention in identifying Urdu poets is to mention the takhallus at the end of
the name, thus, Ghalib.
 WRITERS OF 21ST CENTURY
• Pakistan has been publishing several Urdu fictions and Urdu poetry and many other
things in digests since the 1960s.
• Some digest writers shifted to television drama script writing like Umera Ahmed. She
is the most-liked and appreciated writer of the 21st century with Urdu literature
contribution. Her many novels were dramatized and almost all Pakistanis dramas
based on her novels got super hit.
• On the other hand, the people of Pakistan are being observed to be appreciating the
playwright Khaleel-ur-Rehman Qamar who also has a vast contribution to Pakistani
literature. His written most of the stories are said to be based on real stories. His
writings are appreciated due to the powerful dialogues he writes.
• Today, people do not like to read more rather than rely on watching the stories or
listening to poetry, etc through digital means. That is why plays or novels are directed
and produced.
QUIZ 1
Q1- What is the relation of
literature and arts from history?
/2.5
Q2- Difference between Modern
and Contemporary art in Pakistan.
/2.5

Total for Q1 AND Q2 = 5 MARKS